Shoe-button remover



J. VERTUNNI AND 0. S. ELLERI SHOE BUTTON REMOVER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30. 1919.

atented May 2 5; I//////////I/IIA UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH VERTUNNI AND ORLANDO S. ELLER, 0]? LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA;

SHOE-BUTTON REMOVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May25, 1920.

Application filed April 30, 1919. Serial No. 293,997.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Josnrn VnR'rUNNr, a subject of the King of Italy,and ()amnoo S. E'LLER, a citizen of the l lnited States, both residingat Long Beach, in the county of Los Anigeles and. State of California,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Shoe-Button Removers, ofwhich the followi ng is a specification.

Our invention relates to the shoemakers art and the object of ourinvention is to pro vide a device by which stapled buttons may beren'loved from shoes.

it is common practice in the art, at the present time, to attach buttonsto shoes by means of a. metal staple which is forced through the leatherand clenched on the inside. It is often necessary to remove the staples,due to the buttons becoming lost or disfigured, or for the purpose ofchanging their positions on the shoes. ()ur invention comprises a noveltool. which. may be used by the shoemaker or cobbler for this purpose.

By referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only,

Figure 1 is a side view of our invention.

Fig. 2 is an end view.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, showing the movements of the principalparts.

Fig. 4: is a view, on an enlarged scale, showing a commercial form ofstaple and button in place on a shoe, and

Fig. 5 is a view, on the same scale as Fig. 4, showing the method inwhich the staple is pulled from the shoe.

()ur invention is shown in the drawings as embodying a hand tool such asmay be commonly used by cobblers in small shops. In these embodiments ofour invention a pair of handle members 11. and 12 are employed, thesemembers being mutually pivoted at 13 and held in their open position asshown in Fig. 1, by means of a fiat spring 14. Formed at the forward endof the members 11 and 12 are jaws 15 and 16. Secured on the aw 16 bymeans of screws 17 is a flat retaining plate 18 which is provided with abeveled slot 19 adapted to pass on either side of a staple 20 and underthe eye 21 of a button 22, plate 18 being shown in Figs. 3, 1, and 5.Pivoted on the screw and secured in the jaw 15, is a pulling wedge 26,having the form shown, and being provided. with two prongs 27 and 2 8,the upper surface of the prong 28 being grooved as shown at 29, the eye21 of the button 22 sliding in this groove as the staple is pulled, aswill hereinafter be explained. The pulling wedge 26 is held in contactwith the plate 18 by means of a fiat spring 80.

The method of operation is as follows:

The fiat plate 18 is slipped in place, the staple 20 sliding into theslot 19 as shown in Figs. 3, 4c and 5, and the pulling wedge is drivenacross the plate 18 by pushing the handle members 11 and 12 together.The lower prong 28 of the pulling wedge 26 passes inside the staple 20as shown in Fig. 5, pulling it out from the shoe which is held in placeby the flat retaining plate 18. The two prongs 27 and 28 are separatedby a sharp edged groove, which is utilized to catch and hold the staplein the event one end lets go before the other. As this often happens,this groove is quite essential to the proper operation of the device.

lVe claim as our invention:

1. A shoe button remover for pulling stapled. buttons from shoescomprising a retaining plate of proper shape and size to slip betweenthe eye of the button and the surface of the shoe on either side of thestaple; a pulling wedge of proper size to enter said staple under saideye and pull it from the shoe; and means for forcing said wedge acrosssaid plate.

2. A shoe button remover for pulling stapled buttons from shoescomprising a re taining plate of proper shape and size to slip betweenthe eye of the button and the surface of the shoe on either side of thestaple; a pulling wedge of proper size to enter said staple under saideye and pull it from the shoe; said wedge being pivoted so that it maybe swung against and away from said plate; spring means for holding saidwedge against said plate and means for forcing said wedge across saidplate.

3. A shoe button remover for pulling stapled buttons from shoescomprising a re taining plate of proper shape and size to slip betweenthe eye of the button and the surface of the shoe 011 either side of thestaple; a pulling wedge of proper size to enter said staple under saideye and pull it from the shoe; a member to which said plate is secured;and a second member pivoted to said first named member and carrying saidwedge.

4-. A. shoe button remover for pulling stapled buttons from shoescomprising a retaining plate of proper shape and size to slip betweenthe eye oi the button and the surface of the shoe on either side of thestaple; a pulling wedge of proper size to enter said staple under saideye and pull it from the shoe, said wedge being pivoted so that it maybe swung against and away from said plate; spring means for holding saidwedge against said plate, a member to which said plate is secured; and asecond member pivoted to said first named member and carrying saidwedge.

5. A shoe button remover for pulling stapled buttons from shoescomprising a retaining plate of proper shape and size to slip betweenthe eye of the button and the surface of the shoe on either side of thestaple; a pulling wedge of proper size to enter said staple under saideye and pull it from the shoe; said wedge having a groove adapted tocatch either end of said staple in the event that this end pulls freebefore the other end; and means for forcing said wedge across saidplate.

6. A shoe button remover for pulling stapled buttons from shoescomprising a retaining plate of proper shape and size to slip betweenthe eye of the button and the surface of the shoe on either side of thestaple; a pulling wedge of proper size to enter said staple under saideye and pull it from the shoe; said wedge being pivoted so that it maybeswung against and away from said plate; said wedge having a grooveadapted to catch either end of said staple in the event that this endpulls free before the other end; spring means for holding said wedgeagainst said plate and means for 'lorcing said wedge across said plate.

7. A shoe button remover for pulling stapled buttons from shoescomprising a re taining plate of proper shape and size to slip betweenthe eye of the button and the surface of the shoe on either side of thestaple; a pulling wedge of proper size to enter said staple under saideye and pull it from the shoe; said wedge having a groove adapted toatch either end of said. staple in the event that this end pulls freebefore the other end a member to which said plate is secured; and asecond member pivoted to said first named member and carrying saidwedge.

8. A shoe button remover for pulling stapled buttons from shoescomprising a 1eraining plate of proper shape and size to slip betweenthe eye of the button and the surface of the shoe on either side of thestaple; a pulling wedge of proper size to enter said staple under saideye and pull 31. from the shoe, said wedge being pivoted so that it maybe swung against and away from said plate; said wedge having a grooveadapted to catch either end of said staple in the event that this endpulls free before the other end; spring means for holding said wedgeagainst said plate, a member to which said plate is secured; and asecond lllcllllltl' pivoted to said first named member and carrying saidwedge.

In testimony whereo'l we have hereunto set our hands at Long Beach,California, this 22 day of April, 1919. I

JOSEPH VERIUNN] ORLANDO S, ELLEIL

